2025 at PCC

Thursday, January 9 And so it began, the most momentous year for the PCC Central Office in nearly a decade: in preparation for the move later in the summer, we started getting the lengths of our sit-stand sections of our desks cut, by one foot. Each of these desks got the mobile two-drawer unit brought along, but the side-desk with drawers were denied the chance to continue on the same journey. It was desk families, torn apart all over the place! This was actually an early staging area, to show us all what all our desks would eventually look like, as the cutting was done weekly, by department, over several weeks later in the year.
Monday, March 31 It's the Madison Valley PCC! Or, what will eventually be the Madison Valley PCC, anyway . . . let's say: "sometime in 2026." I'd say I'll believe it when I see it, but at least construction is actually happening, so there's that! (When I was very first told there would be a store in this location, the announcement had come in 2015. The very first projected opening date was 2017. We have Madison Park NIMBYs to thank for the protracted delays.) Shobhit and I had just gone for a walk that evening last March, headed up Madison just as a walking route we hadn't already done. I didn't even realize this much had been done on the building when we got to it, past 29th Avenue E.
Thursday, April 24 At the April in-person POS meeting, in the PCC Bothell classroom: Gabby assists <>a href="https://wildlybelovedfoods.com/">Wildly Beloved Foods founder Aurora Echo, as she prepares delicious fresh pasta for us all to eat.
Tuesday, May 6 It was like our office building on Elliott Avenue had caught wind of our plans to move and was encouraging us to get a move on: as if it weren't enough to have constantly malfunctioning elevators (our then-CFO was once stuck it one for a solid hour) and fifth-floor flooding one year and water turn-off the next, it almost felt like the inevitable next step that the key card-lock doors from the elevator bank to the front desk would stop working and thus be tied shut with a rope chain for a solid two weeks before getting repaired.
Wednesday, May 7 Office Relocation Downtown Site Visit time! First of 2025, but my second of three overall before the actual move, in my capacity as a member of the Office Relocation Committee, representing the Merchandising Department. In this shot, people are standing in front of what would later become the new entrance to the PCC Corner Market downtown store; and to their left would become the front entrance to the new PCC office.
Thursday, May 8 Don't Cry For Me South Lake Union: Cathryn surveys they lay of the miniature golf land at Flatstick Pub, during our spring social outing with Merchandising.
Wednesday, May 14 (L-R) Brandy; Cathryn; Amy; Gabby; Matthew; Marie from IT. The rest of us are the "P3" ("Pricing, Promotions, and Project Management") team, going on our own quarterly social outing—and our first since Brandy and Cathryn joined the team. I had asked to invite Marie along for one, in appreciation for all her hard work on all the technical problems that had plagued our system since a key upgrade earlier in the year.
Thursday, July 10 PCC Office preview! Mostly done by mid-July, ahead of moving all the furniture from the Elliott Avenue location in late August.
Tuesday, July 15 But, before that could happen: PCC Corner Market opens, on July 15. I didn't get down there in the morning on opening day, like I had when the original PCC Downtown store opened in January 2022, before closing exactly two years later in 2024, making way for this new split use of the original space (1/3 of it the new store, 2/3 of it the new office) in 2025. This shot, taken from the concourse level in at Rainier Square and looking toward the back entrance to the store during the lunch rush aroud 1 p.m., was taken by Gabby's husband, Nick.
Tuesday, August 5 It's Matthew's 23rd PCC anniversary! Celebrating with the P3 Team, at Mbar. Because, after we went to the Smith Tower Observatory Bar to celebrate the year before, I decided every year we have to go to a rooftop bar. Hmm, maybe 2026 should be at Fogo de Chao's Next Level Lounge, which just opened right on the same block as our office at Rainier Square! 2027 will mark my 25th, so I'll have to start brainstorming something super special for that one, as an exercise to not think about my inexorable march toward death! Speaking of dearth: Mbar, unfortunately, closed permanently just this past November.
Friday, August 15 Two years after my first time at Co+nvergence, the conference staged bt NCG (National Cooperative Grocers) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which I went to in 2023 with Noah and Steven (and about 19 other PCC store staff), this year I went back, this time with Frank and Amanda. It was super fun—especially the social events they put on, the last of which included caricature services. That drawing now hangs on the pillar next to my desk at work.
Wednesday, August 20 Here we are at the Farewell 3131 Office Potluck, held just two days before our last day at that location. It might as well have been called the Farewell Janky Bullshit Building Potluck, so there was much about that place none of us will miss—but boy, those gorgeous views are among the few things we absolutely will miss.
Tuesday, September 2 First day at the new office! Gabby took this shot of Benny, Noah and me pretty early in the morning on that day, as we all came and sat at what are now "hotel desks"—although I, as the only one who works in-office every day except when taking PTO, have pretty well settled into this spot; I even brought in my plant that had been handed down to me by Lynne when she retired. (Noah and Frank generally work in-office three times a week, and also consistently sit at the same desks. Benny, who works in-office probably more than anyone except me, has settled into the desk at the end of the row to my right; I'm not sure I've ever seen him sit again at the desk he's at here.) This was on a Tuesday because it was the day after Labor Day; and no one at all worked in-office the week prior—the last week of August—because both old and new offices were needed that week for the movers making the transition with all the desks and furniture being transitioned. I hate working from home, though, so I decided: screw this, I'm taking that week as a stay-cation! More than one other person took my cue and did the same. I live to be an inspiration.
Friday, October 31 Halloween at PCC, and particularly at the office, was a pretty quiet affair this year, and alas, this seems likely to be the case for the foreseeable future: with most people working from home more days than not, and Mondays and Fridays in particular being the most empty, Halloween landed on Friday so there were very few people in-office at all, let alone in costume. But! There were a few select people in costume (including me!), and that's how I got this one truly spectacular shot, of Lauren as a butterfly, flying up against the floral mural over by the Executive desks. Over my 23 years at PCC, historically the Halloween tradition has been to have hot apple cider and popcorn, and a costume contest. The consistency of this changed post-pandemic, when hybrid work became the norm; the aforementioned weekly patterns actually started at the old office—Halloween on a Thursday or Friday, or when it landed on a weekend, has resulted in nothing of note happening at the office; we only had the traditional festivities in this period in 2022 and 2023, when Halloween landed on a Tuesday and a Wednesday, respectively. Halloween lands on a weekend the next two years, then on a Tuesday in 2028. Arguably we could revive something again that year, but by then, it will have been a solid five years since the office fully engaged with this holiday. That really bums me out, but I guess we all have to make sacrifices. Now if you'll excuse me I just need to take a moment to 😭😭😭😭
Tuesday, November 11 For the first time in years, we got wearable swag! The last time I got PCC T-shirts, it was closer to our 2017 rebrand, and to be honest I never wear them because the PCC NATURAL MARKETS lettering is so prominent that I feel like I look like I'm headed for a shift at vendor booth somewhere. These new shirts are much more subtle (they do have the company name on them, but in very small lettering), and have a really great design to boot. I've actually worn this one, both at and outside of work.
Wednesday, December 3 As of 2024, Dorie (center) had 25 years working at PCC. As of 2025, she is retired, and she had a retirement party, in the break room at her store, PCC Greenlake. Dorie is one of the very few staff at any of the stores that I have a minor but long history with (I even have a photo of her from 2007, in what was then the backyard of duplexes she and Shauna lived in next to each other), so I went out of my way to go to this party. She was surprised and delighted to see me: "Matthew! I can't believe we got you out of the office!" So there you have it, that's how you do it: you just need to retire. I'm here in this photo with Dorie and her daughter, and also the PCC HR Director, Sara, who started at PCC 25 years ago herself, working at the very same store as her mother, and unsurprisingly commonly mistaken for her.
Wednesday, December 10 Yes! At least the PCC Foraged Feast still lives! Traditionally this one has been held as an office Thanksgiving feast and potluck in mid-November, which is when I am constantly advocating for us to return to—but, over the past several years, between store openings and other scheduling conflicts it has proven difficult to stay consistent on that. This year was the latest it had ever been held, effectively supplanting any chance of a separate office holiday event, which used to happen annually as well; now the two things have effectively merged. Honestly and truly, though: I am just grateful it's still happening at all. The limited space at our office posed a new challenge, with food staging back in the kitchen but tables set up along the wide path cutting through the desks area (we have no large dining space like at the old office). There was some concern about how well this would work, but it actually worked incredibly well.
Wednesday, December 10 A newer tradition that means a great deal to me: a holiday outing with the P3 Team—scheduled this year on 12/10 with the idea that we would all theoretically already be at the office for the Foraged Feast, as there is no single day each week in which all five of us work in-office. In the end, only three of us made it, but we still had a great time at the Christmas Dive Bar on Capitol Hill. This was especially convenient for me as it was all of a four-block walk home when we were done.
Wednesday, December 17 Three Wednesday in a row with major work-related social events in a row: and on the third week, we had our Merchandising Department holiday party, organized pretty much entirely by Gabby: this was my favorite shot I took at the event, the exterior of Métier Brewing Co Cherry Street, the party going on full swing inside. Side note: co-founder Rodney Hines also happens to be on the PCC Board of Trustees. A fun little game you can do is look at the full-size image and see how many of the people you can identify inside!
Friday, December 26 And finally! Another ghosttown day at the office: I was literally the only person in-office the day after Christmas, the entire day. I did see one other person briefly that day, but it was our courier. Anyway, can you find me in this shot? And now I'll leave you to think about how I managed to take it!